Historic Hyde Park Sites Announce Holiday Open House Events
Staff | December 3, 2012 | CommentVANDERBILT MANSION HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE – December 9, 2012
On December 9, 2012 the National Park Service will host its annual Holiday Open House at the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site. The Mansion will be decorated for the holidays and afternoon visitors will enjoy complimentary refreshments. Admission will be free of charge. On December 15, 2012, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and the Home of FDR National Historic Site will host a series of free holiday events. The Roosevelt Library and the Home of FDR (Springwood) will be open to visitors free of charge on December 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. There will be holiday decorations, refreshments and special activities — including the annual Children’s Reading Festival — beginning at Noon in the Henry A. Wallace Visitor and Education Center. Holiday Open House at Val-Kill will run from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on December 15 with a shuttle running from the Wallace Center. Parking at the sites is limited and attendees are encouraged to carpool when possible.
On December 9, the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site will be free of charge to visitors from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Holiday Open House will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on December 9. The Mansion will be decorated for the holidays and refreshments will be provided by the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt Historical Association.
Children’s Reading Festival, Santa and Holiday Cards for Troops – December 15, 2012
The seventh annual Children’s Reading Festival — presented by the Roosevelt Library and the Friends of the Poughkeepsie Public Library District — will be held in the Henry A. Wallace Center, from Noon to 4:00 p.m. on December 15. Children’s book authors — including Hudson Valley author and illustrator Iza Trapani — will read from and sign copies of their books. Featured books will be available for purchase in the New Deal Store in the Wallace Center. Children’s book readings and signings will take place at 1:30 p.m., 2:15 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Visit www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu for updated information on the author line-up.
In addition, there will be free photos with Santa from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., and children can make holiday cards for sailors on the USS FRANKLIN AND ELEANOR ROOSEVELT beginning at Noon. Refreshments will be served throughout the afternoon.
FDR Library and Home, Val-Kill, Holiday Open House – December 15, 2012
Holiday Open House on December 15 is from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. both at the Home of FDR National Historic Site — where there will be readings from Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” — and at the Roosevelt Library with a chance to see the photographic exhibition, “The Roosevelts: Public Figures, Private Lives.” The Home will be decorated for the holidays as it was during the Roosevelt presidency. Admission is free to the Home and Library throughout the day.
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site (Val-Kill) will also be free and open to visitors from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on December 15. Beginning at 4:00 p.m., visitors to Val-Kill are required to take a shuttle from Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home. There will be no onsite parking at Val-Kill on December 15 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Refreshments and music will be provided by the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt Historical Association.
For more information please call: Cliff Laube, Roosevelt Library, (845) 486-7745; or Franceska Macsali Urbin, National Park Service, (845) 229 6214.
Historic Hyde Park is a group of government and private non-profit organizations based in Hyde Park, New York. Each has a unique mission, but all are united in their dedication to extending the legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt to new generations. HHP includes the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill, the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, and Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site. For more information about HHP visit www.HistoricHydePark.org.